


Bare All Your Scars to Me

by That_is_right



Series: Trans Sheith Week 2021 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cutting, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Non-Binary Keith, Other, Scars, Self-Harm, Trans Character, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Sheith Week 2021, Trans Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 13:20:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30106575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_is_right/pseuds/That_is_right
Summary: Shiro first notices the scars on Keith’s arms about a week after they first start dating.When Keith is ready to talk about it, they will. For now, Shiro just needs to make sure that when that day comes, Keith feels safe enough to do so.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Trans Sheith Week 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210952
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Bare All Your Scars to Me

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for day four of Trans Sheith Week 2021 for the prompts of scars/recovery. 
> 
> Just a heads up, this fic is a bit more serious than the others in this series. It mainly focuses on self-harm scars and an instance where Keith self-harms again and comes to Shiro for reassurance afterwards. 
> 
> Keith is non-binary and Shiro is a trans man.

Shiro first notices the scars on Keith’s arms about a week after they first start dating. It’s an uncomfortably hot day, and it’s the first time that Shiro has seen Keith in short sleeves. He thinks they catch him looking, and although they’re clearly self-harm scars and he wants to know if Keith is okay, he doesn’t say anything. It’s not really something that he feels like he should be bringing up this early. When Keith is ready to talk about it, they will. For now, Shiro just needs to make sure that when that day comes, Keith feels safe enough to do so.

~...~

It takes a few months for Keith to start opening up to him. Very early on in their relationship, Shiro comes to realise that if Keith had their way, they would tackle every problem in their life by themself. It takes Shiro a while to show them that they aren’t alone anymore, that they can ask him for help and support and not need to feel bad about it.

One night, there’s a knock on Shiro’s bedroom door just after midnight. He pulls himself out of bed and opens his door to see Keith. Their hair is messy, and they look like they’re mere seconds from bursting into tears. “Keith, are you okay?” Shiro asks.

Keith shrugs. “I don’t know, but no one else is awake, and I don’t want to keep you up if you want to go to sleep—”

Shiro hushes them before they can finish their sentence. “You can always ask me for help, Keith. Even if you have to break in here and shake me awake.”

Keith stares up at them with wide eyes, and before Shiro can say anything else, they burst into tears. Shiro guides them into his room and shuts the door. Once they’re inside, he pulls them into a hug and holds them while they sob. They wrap their arms tightly around him and bury their face in his ratty t-shirt, clinging to him like they might get sucked into space if they let go.

“You’re alright, baby,” Shiro says. “You’re okay.”

Keith just continues sobbing.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

After a few minutes, Keith’s heaving sobs die down to the odd sniffle, and Shiro pulls away slightly to look at them. They’re wearing a thin long-sleeve t-shirt, which is now wet with their own tears. Now that winter has rolled in, and the nights are bitterly cold, Shiro feels colder just looking at them.

“Here, let me get you something a little warmer,” Shiro says. He turns to his wardrobe and rummages around for a moment before pulling out his favourite hoodie. He knows that if he lets Keith leave with this hoodie, he probably won’t get it back, but that’s okay. “Do you want to get out of your shirt?”

Keith nods and pulls it off over their head. When they drop it onto the floor, Shiro notices the angry red cuts on their arm, and he can’t stop himself from gasping.

“Please don’t freak out,” Keith says quickly. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Can I... can I see?” Shiro asks. Keith is keeping their arm tucked safely against their chest, and they hesitate for a moment before extending their arm out for him to see. The cuts can’t be more than a few hours old. They’ve scabbed over, but they’re red and angry, hot to the touch. “Baby, are you okay?”

Keith stares at him for a moment. “What?”

“Do you need to see a doctor?”

Keith stiffens. “No, please, don’t make me—”

“Shh, baby, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to,” Shiro says. “Is there anything else?”

Keith shakes their head. “No. Just... this.”

“Okay. Do you want me to wipe this down with some antiseptic, and then we can bandage it for the night?”

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Keith asks.

“Freaking out isn’t going to help you,” Shiro says. “They aren’t very deep; you aren’t in any immediate danger. I just want to make sure it stays clean so it doesn’t get infected.”

Keith’s eyes well up with tears again. “But why are you so relaxed about this? I’m fucked up. I’m a mess.”

Carefully, so as not to hurt Keith’s arm, Shiro pulls them into another hug. “You’re not fucked up. You’re just going through a rough time.” He pulls back to look at them again. “Come on. We’ll get this washed and bandaged.”

Keith follows him to his bathroom, and Shiro has them sit on the toilet while he wipes down their arm. When he’s done, he carefully applies a large bandage over the fresh cuts and then hands his hoodie to Keith.

“Thank you,” Keith says quietly. They pull the hoodie on over their head and wiggle into it. Shiro pretends not to notice the way that they bury their nose into it and take in the smell of it. If he were small enough to wear any of Keith’s clothing, Shiro would do the same thing.

Shiro helps Keith back to their feet and guides them back to his bed. The sleeves of Shiro’s hoodie are too long for them, and the tips of Keith’s fingertips barely poke out past the cuffs. It might be the cutest thing that Shiro has ever seen. When he tells Keith as much, Keith flushes red and brings his hands up to hide his face.

“I’m not cute,” Keith protests, his voice slightly muffled.

“You, Keith, are the cutest person I have ever known,” Shiro says earnestly.

Shiro can practically hear them rolling their eyes. “You sap.”

“Only for you.”

Keith drops their hands and smiles shyly at him. They fall back onto the bed and sigh heavily. “I’m sorry about tonight. I’m such a mess.”

Shiro drops down onto the bed beside them. “You’re not a mess, and you don’t have to be sorry.”

“I still feel bad for dumping all of this on you,” Keith says quietly.

Shiro takes their hand and holds it tightly between two of his. “You haven’t dumped anything on me that I can’t manage.”

“Should we... do you want to talk about this?” Keith asks.

“Not tonight,” Shiro says. “It’s late, and I think you’ve been through enough today. If you want to talk about everything tomorrow, I think that would be good for you. For now, how about we just go to sleep?”

“Can I stay here tonight?” Keith asks. They’ve stayed over a few times now, but they still ask every time.

“Of course. I don’t really want to let you go at the moment, anyway. You’re nice and warm.”

Keith giggles at that. “Okay.”

“Do you want to get under the covers, or are we sleeping up here tonight?”

Keith sighs happily. “I’ll move in a second.”

When Keith makes no move to get up, Shiro sits up off the bed and takes both of Keith’s hands. He gives a gentle tug and pulls Keith up and off the bed. When Keith is upright, Shiro pulls back the covers and guides them back down. Keith shuffles over to the other side of the bed, and Shiro crawls in after them. Once they’re both in, Shiro presses his front to Keith’s back and curls around them securely. Shiro keeps one arm tucked under his head and curls the other around Keith’s middle, enjoying the happy sigh that earns him.

They’re both quiet for a few minutes until Keith speaks again. “Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for tonight. No one has ever been so relaxed about... you know... all of this.”

Shiro presses a kiss to the back of Keith’s head. Now doesn’t feel like a good time to mention the fact that he had first seen Keith’s scars months ago. “You’re welcome, Keith.” So, he doesn’t. They’ll talk about it some more, but not tonight. For now, Shiro just wants to enjoy the warmth of Keith against his front as they drift off to sleep. Everything else can wait.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/that_is_yeet)!


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